The night was young, and the three Sutherland sisters were busy laughing and joking in Dani's room. Dani, fresh from Scott's proposal, was hardly the person to be cheering up a supposedly heartbroken Kirsty, yet she still managed to show her sister a good time.
"We haven't done this in ages!" exclaimed Dani, painting her nails a bright red.
"Correction, we haven't ever done this!" said Jade. "It's so great to have a girls only night. No men, just us."
"Yeah I suppose, " said Kirsty. She would have much preferred to sit in her room and brood. "So what are we doing tonight then?"
"Watching soppy American movies, wearing face masks and stuffing our faces. That's what I did to get over my exes."
The door swinging wide open interrupted Dani's words of wisdom. Kit was back.
"Oooooh nice and cosy. Can anyone join in?" Kit hated sharing a room with the perfect Danielle Sutherland, ever surrounded by her equally angelic sisters.
"You could Kit, if you were sober."
"What makes you think I'm not? You think all I do is drink? Actually I've been downstairs all the time. There's a guy at the door delivering flowers for a Miss Kirsty Sutherland. A dozen red roses. Nice to know you've got another admirer lined up."
"For me?" Who could they be from? It didn't make sense. Why would Seb dump her, and then send her flowers the same night? Maybe he pitied her. Kirsty raced downstairs, glad to leave her sisters room. Sure enough, the flowers weren't a part of Kit's drunken imagination. She signed for them then carried the bouquet onto the veranda, smelling the pleasant aroma. They reminded her of love. They couldn't be from Seb, no, they had to be from her first love. Kane.
***
The uncomfortable camp beds of the drop-in centre did nothing to help Brooke sleep, resulting in her tossing and turning for much of the night. Still, it was better than sleeping rough, and she had a room full of empty beds to herself. There was something about Summer Bay; the quaintness of it all made her want to stay there forever. If she could find Kane, she'd have roots, and the older brother she'd always dreamed of. Kane was probably an only child, so would be crying out for a sister. She had to meet him soon. It was fate. Brooke changed from her hideous tartan pyjamas, into her purple trousers and vintage lace top, completing her look with red lace up boots. She tied up her curly Afro locks into a black silk headscarf, and her silence was then interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Are you decent Brooke?" said Noah.
"Yeah, come in."
Noah sat on the bed opposite Brooke. "If you want something to eat we've got a couple of mouldy boxes of cereal, or you could go to the nearby diner. Are you alright for money?"
"Yeah, " said Brooke.
"You know, if you ever want to talk about your situation, there is always someone here."
"I'll bear that in mind."
Noah smiled at the new girl. He suspected she looked older than she really was. There was another knock at the door.
"Hi Noah. " It was Kit. She looked at the familiar girl sitting on the bed. "I think we've met before."
"Yeah, last night on the beach."
"Oh yeah, that."
"Did you want anything Kit?" asked Noah.
"No, it can wait." It couldn't really. She was near breaking point after getting drunk again. She needed a shoulder to cry on.
"Well that's good, because Brooke here needs showing around. Can you take her to the diner? I've got a load of paperwork to get through."
"Sure." Kit faked a smile. "Let's go."
As soon as they left the building, Brooke whipped out her cigarette and lit up. Seeing Kits expression she said, "One of my many vices; we all have them."
"Don't I know it." Silence followed. "So are you staying here long?"
"For as long as I need to. I'm looking for… an old friend."
"Oh, do I know him?"
Brooke decided against saying again. "I doubt it."
"Where are you trying to get away from?"
"Perth. My Mum is driving me crazy. I took some of my HSC early and now she thinks I'm getting complacent."
"Wow, you must be clever. I never finished my HSC."
"You aren't missing much, " Brooke stubbed out her cigarette on a nearby bin. "I almost died of boredom."
"Well here we are, the Summer Bay diner. If you're gonna stick around, you'd better get used to knowing every single person in here and their business."
"Great, " she said faking sarcasm. Maybe someone here would know Kane.
"And to top it all off my extended family are here, " said Kit gesturing towards two girls in uniform, sitting down. One of them caught Kit's eye, and waved.
"Kit, sit with us." Jade wanted to make it up to Kit, after blanking her the previous night.
Kit sat opposite the twins. Brooke sat next to her.
"Hi, " said the other girl. "Are you new here?"
"Very, " said Brooke.
"I'm Kirsty, and this is my sister Jade."
"Nice."
"This is Brooke, " said Kit. "She's staying at the drop in centre."
"You'd better believe it." Brooke dumped her cigarette packet on the table. Jade glared. "I'm gonna go order."
"She smokes?" said an aghast Jade.
"People do Jade, " said Kit.
"But still… She's a bit different isn't she? She reminds me of those hippy girls from the city."
"It's nice to see someone different around here, " said Kirsty. "This place could do with spicing up." Kirsty was secretly hoping that another, different person would come to Summer Bay. A person who she suspected was already there. That morning, she'd received an anonymous note, telling her to meet someone at six o clock by the wharf. He had to be back. Brooke came back with a toasted sandwich. Little did she know she was closer to Kane than she thought.